A Fall Ritual

Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays. It was especially fun as a kid. As an adult, I often associate Halloween with raking leaves. Today was no exception. Today was a great day for raking leaves. The weather was not cold, but brisk. The wind was very light. Heavy winds do not help us leaf rakers. Today was the "perfect" day. So after six hours, I felt content with the pile I had amassed. The one thing I miss however, is the bonn-fire. As a kid, we raked leaves and dragged them to the "burn pile". Then we added to the pile all of the tree and bush cuttings from throughout the summer and fall. We saved the burn pile for after trick-or-treat on Halloween. It was there, unlike Linus who waited in the pumpkin patch for the Great Pumpkin, we gathered waiting for the roasting of the marshmallows and fresh apple cider after walking what seemed like miles and miles for candy. Today, I had to be thankful for a leaf pile that the township would pick up since burning is "illegal". However, I was able to enjoy six hours of raking and reflecting upon Halloweens past. After finish the raking, I settled in for handing out candy. I still enjoy seeing all of the little kids and their costumes as they approach the door. Our neighborhood kids are still so polite. My two terriers often assist me in handing out candy. I typically dress them up and let them enjoy the fun. My littlest terrier stands at the top of the stair way looking through our glass door at the children. As the night continues on and she sees that they are just getting something from me, she makes her way down the stairs only to stand at a distance and watch them. My oldest terrier clings to me. With terrier in one arm I had the children candy with the others. Often they ask me why she is dress up or if she went trick-or-treating. It is so fun to watch their faces light up at the site of a terrier dressed for Halloween.

A Penguin Encounter

Have you ever seen a penguin up close and personnel? Have you ever wanted to touch one? Ditto. They seem like such fun birds. We have even "dedicated" a bathroom to the penguin. Ok, we may have taken our interest a bit too far, but after "March of the Penguins" we decided they were way too cute to ignore. Today we took our interest one step further. While visiting the aquarium in Newport, KY we paid for the opportunity to do a behind the seen tour to learn more about penguins. The tour begin with a brief introduction to the "rules" of the encounter. Next we entered a room that one would have thought would have been cold. It was warm. Our guide explained to use that we were about to be introduced to African penguins. Okay - African penguins???? I didn't know there were African penguins. While one of the guides brought around Paul, Randy or Simon for us to pet (hey American Idol fans, you have got to visit Newport on the Levy), the other guide told us more about our "family" of penguins. They were dry and friendly, although a bit jealous. Several wanted more attention from us than others. Their feathers were very "tight" and dry, not oily like I expected. They were very playful. It was a wonderful opportunity to learn more about penguins and a portion of our ticket price went to penguin research. Click here to learn more about the African penguin.

Hit Someone

Hockey is back in Toledo. After a two-year absence while hockey fans in the region awaited the building of the new Lucas Country Arena, hockey fans had to settle for the Red Wings. Some concession. Although a painful one last year when they loss the cup to the Pittsburgh Penguins in game seven at the Joe. Tonight was the long awaited night for hockey fans in Toledo - return of hockey. This version is called the Toledo Walleye who compete at the ECHL level. This team is associated with both the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Black Hawks. So why does someone like me care? I'm certainly a baseball and football fan, but this is a first. A blog entry on hockey. Tonight was less about hockey for me and more about hope. Hope for a city trying to revitalize during a poor economic time. Could an arena such as this spark revitalization? I guess the answer to that questions lies in the future. A future I look forward to watching unfold. In the meantime, I went to the first hockey game at the new arena to support Toledo and what I hope to be a "tipping point" toward the revitalization of the down town area. So, I went. I enjoyed an action packed game and didn't even mind seeing the Walleye drop their first game in the area to the Florida Everglades 2 to 1. I was there with over 7000 people cheering on the Walleye, but more importantly cheering on the city of Toledo.

Here We Go Steelers! Here We Go!

I have always LOVED the Steelers. Not totally sure why. I didn't grow up in Pittsburgh or even Pennsylvania for that matter. Perhaps I grew up at a time when the Steelers were really good - you know the 1970s when they had Bradshaw, Green, and Harris just to name a few. I have often attended Steeler games - at least once a year. I first caught them in Cincinnati. Then I got to see them in Pittsburgh at Heinz Field; opening day against the Oakland Raiders in 2004. I've even caught them in Cleveland, recently, and that game wasn't even close. However, today I was able to see them in Detroit. I was sure it would be a Steeler "blow out". I am, common on, the Lions were 0-16 last year. Yes, the beat the Redskins this year, but it isn't like the Redskins are that good. The Lions first draft choice was even injured. So I was sure I was in for a boring game. It was anything but boring. The Steelers won 28-20. Great game. Even better, Ford Field is a GREAT venue to see a game. There seemed to be as many Steelers fans as Lions fans there. Steeler fan travel well. The Lions were in it, until the last two minutes when the "Steel-Curtin" showed up and sacked Daunte Culpepper two times when the Lions were on the Steeler end of the field. Thankfully, the Steelers won again. So far, every where I've seen them play, they have come out winners.